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Beverage makers' April-June quarter takes a hit due to unseasonal rain
This has not only impacted sales of the cola brands but also traditional milk-based beverage products, such as lassi, shakes, flavoured milks, and buttermilk.
Interestingly, the beverage makers had early volume gains in 2026 as summer arrived early. They had stocked inventory and channels in anticipation of a repeat of last year's bumper sales.
However, by mid-April, intermittent rainfall started hitting southern and western India, impacting overall which sales from early May.
The Coca-Cola Company Chairman and CEO James Quincey, in the latest investors' call, said the company got a "hit by some early monsoon in India", in the June quarter, which is the important selling season in the country.
The company had a good start in the quarter, but early arrival of monsoon impacted it, said Quincey.
"In India, after a strong start to the year, volume declined, as our business was impacted by early monsoons and geopolitical conflict (India-Pakistan conflict) early in the important summer season," he said.
India is the fifth largest market for The Coca-Cola Company, which operates here with brands as ThumsUp, Sprite, Maaza, Minute Maid, Kinley, besides Coca-Cola and Coke.
For PepsiCo, India continues to be a double-digit growth path; however, its beverage business was also hit in India during the quarter under review.
PepsiCo's International Beverages Franchise (IBF) segment, which focuses on the bottling and distribution of PepsiCo's beverage brands outside of North America, had "a decline in India" in the second (June) quarter, the company said earlier this month in its earnings statement.
IBF includes PepsiCo's international franchise beverage businesses, as well as its SodaStream business. In India, PepsiCo's bottling operations in India are mostly handled by its largest franchisee is Varun Beverages Ltd (VBL).
Several dairy companies also faced an impact on sales of beverage products in the quarter, due to unseasonal rainfall and early arrival of monsoon.
IDA President R S Sodhi told PTI more rain has affected the demand for beverages, including dairy-based ones, this year. Moreover, he said the rural demand is also tight because of inflation.
"The emergence of many local and regional brands in the beverage segment is also impacting sales of large companies," he said.
Tata Consumer Products Ltd, which operates in the beverages segment with its glucose-based drink Gluco+ and Fruski, said volume growth of its ready to drink (RTD) business "was impacted by unseasonal rain" in the June quarter.
"RTD business was impacted by unseasonal rains and recorded a moderate volume growth of 3 per cent," the Tata group FMCG arm said in its earnings statement.
Similarly, home-grown FMCG major Dabur India said its consolidated revenue in the June quarter is expected to grow in low-single digits on account of a decline in beverages, which was impacted during the quarter due to unseasonal rainfall and a short summer.
"The beverage portfolio was impacted during the quarter due to unseasonal rains and short summer," Dabur said earlier this month in its quarterly updates.
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It's still going to be an ultra-processed food with 39 grams of sugar," Cohen said, referring to the amount of sugar in a 12-ounce can of Coca-Cola. That's more than half of the daily added sugar intake recommended for adults in the US Department of Agriculture's Dietary Guidelines for Americans."It makes no sense, health officials celebrating swapping high-fructose corn syrup for cane sugar as a win for public health," said Eva Greenthal, senior policy scientist at the Center for Science in the Public Interest. "It's things like this that can make it hard to take the administration seriously."US dietary guidelines recommend that Americans limit their consumption of added sugars to 10 per cent of daily calories. For someone with a 2,200-calorie-a-day diet, that could mean one 16.9-ounce bottle of classic Coca-Cola a day. The American Heart Association recommends a limit of 6 per cent. Americans average about 13 per cent, federal data beverages are the top source of added sugars in the American diet, making up 24 per cent of daily added sugar intake, according to federal data. Americans love drinking soda, cracking on average about five cans of full-calorie sodas a week. Christina Roberto, director of the Center for Food and Nutrition Policy at the University of Pennsylvania, said sugary beverages are more problematic than other kinds of sweets because they have little nutritional value and aren't filling. "This is just pure liquid sugar," she said. "At least a Snickers bar has some nuts." Also read: Why does American Coca-Cola taste different from ... Industry response and consumer trendsCoca-Cola's announcement is in line with growing trends that signify more desire among consumers to avoid ultra-processed products, said Duane Stanford, editor and publisher of Beverage Digest, an industry research and analysis publication. Over the past few decades, the beverage space has moved toward an emphasis on health and announced plans to launch a prebiotic version of their flagship drink, which has less sugar than the original, to cater to young consumers interested in gut health. The company acquired the popular alternative soda company Poppi in May. Coca-Cola already sells Mexican-made Coca-Cola sweetened with cane sugar in the US, and its Kosher for Passover Coke is made with sugar. PepsiCo sells a "real sugar" himself has referred to sugar as "poison" and praised West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey for seeking to ban all sodas from Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits in the state. As the federal government continues to seek changes in the US food industry, nutrition experts expressed optimism at interest in reforms, but said policies that tackle reducing the overall consumption of processed foods should be prioritized."This is an area where I think regardless of whether you're on the left or the right, most people agree that we really should be reducing the amount of ultra-processed foods that we have, and it's really wonderful that this administration is prioritizing that and showing the power that the president can have over the food supply," Cohen said that requiring food companies to list the percentage of fructose in products sweetened by high-fructose corn syrup and establishing added sugar reduction targets would be more helpful than switching to cane sugar. Also read: Main ingredient in coca-cola, the most American item ever ... "When I hear RFK Jr. say 'sugar is poison,' I feel optimistic about how he will lead his agencies to reduce sugar in our food supply," Greenthal said. "On the flip side, when I see him celebrate a swap from high-fructose corn syrup to cane sugar, I start to question whether to take it seriously about taking steps to improve health."
